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Talking Point /
Talking Point: Shopping |
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| Talking Point: Shopping |
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Friday 13th January 2012 |
With some big name High Street stores struggling, how have your shopping habits changed ?
High Street woes have been in focus more than ever as the UK's biggest retailer Tesco announced a fall in sales even after the traditionally busy Christmas period.
Other names including Argos have had tough trading times and we've seen some of our local independents close or move from the town centre.
So have you changed your shopping habits ? Have you changed supermarkets in a bid to cut the weekly shopping bill? Are you using the market more? Or is your spending moving online ?
Are you trying to use the small locally-based businesses rather than the big names?
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Guinevere of Andover says: |
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11:47 on Thursday 16th February 2012 |
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"Came to Andover in the 60's. It was a much better place for shopping then. The Thursday, and Saturday market was beaming. There were better shops. We have nothing now, have been saying for a while now that Andover will have few pubs, cafes and restaurants and nothing else. Went to Basingstoke one Sunday, it was booming. You felt alive. Andover town has become distressing, what we need is Mary Portas to come to Andover and do something about improving the shops in the High Street and encouraging customers back to Andover.
" |
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Kevin Lewis of Amesbury says: |
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15:16 on Sunday 5th February 2012 |
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"My wife and I have higher prices when we did a shop recently at Tescos but I also noticed a large number of items on 'special offer' at the moment. I imagine when they are returned to normal price it will be 5-10% higher than before and Tesco are hoping it won't be noticed by many customers thus lessening the impact of store wide price rises!" |
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Mr D of Outskirts of Andover says: |
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21:11 on Saturday 4th February 2012 |
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"And how long have they been on about developing George yard car park? The only good thing about Andover is that you get parking refunded when you shop in Asda, if they got rid of that then I won't visit. It's like a ghost town." |
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Anon 27 of town says: |
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12:05 on Saturday 4th February 2012 |
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"Milk has quietly gone up by one pence in the Metro..
butter is incredibly cheaper than butter substitutes .. Margarine now is the price that the cheapest butter was in spring last year.. when I shop and pay with a debit card.. I probably have found prices overall more expensive but today by just using cash.. it became evidently clear how surreptitiously every day items are being hiked up, whilst all the Supermarkets champion only what is cheaper between them all. Another example is Warbuttons bread, that was One Pound Thirty Five Pence…
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Mr G of Andover says: |
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23:23 on Friday 3rd February 2012 |
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"Well said Southern Boy. This town had more going for it in the late 60's and early 70's then it does today. What a shame, Andover use to be a lovely place" |
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Southern Boy of Andover says: |
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19:45 on Friday 3rd February 2012 |
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"@ Peter - they said that about pedestrianising the high street, that killed the market, its half of what it used to be. why develop the George Yard ??? answer, so we can have more empty shops !! its a pie in the sky idea which will just cost us taxpayers more money, when we havent got it - expect they will rename it as well - the sir george car park !! the best thing about andover is its smack in the middle of great towns with decent shops although the travellings not great" |
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Peter of Andover says: |
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19:02 on Friday 3rd February 2012 |
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"@anon who is afraid to be named, wait till the development of the George yard car park, which I believe will enhance Andover." |
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anon of andover says: |
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07:44 on Friday 3rd February 2012 |
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"Southern Boy is right, the rents in Andover is ridiculous. You add all the other bills on top of that and people just cant afford it. That though is not an excuse for the council to just let anyone take a shop in Andover. We have all been posting on this for a while now and in true Andover fashion no one of power is commenting or probably even reading this. We just have to keep accepting the fact that the powers that be in Andover, don't really care what we think. I wrote to Sir George a while back and all i got was a letter saying the great plans for Andover and a copy of the Andover Vision. Which basicaly said we getting a cinema and KFC so stop moaning. The people in charge are out of touch and are purely interested in keeping Andover as a small market town and just filling the empty shops with anything as long as the rent is coming in." |
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Southern Boy of Andover says: |
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17:56 on Thursday 2nd February 2012 |
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"@ Anon, Andover Borough Council was abolished back in the 70's - think you need up dating we now have Test Valley Borough Council - and what good it will do you contacting them about not having a Wimpy - well we didnt want a pizza parlour in our lovely Guildhall but it happened which i beleive breached thier own planning policy as there are to many food outlets in the area and not enough proper shops - due to the unbelievable rents in the town centre - the empty shop opposite the library is £38,000 a year - TVBC leased the Guildhall out at £25,000 a year just to make sure that zippo's came - Andover - aka "Clown Town"" |
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Peter of Andover says: |
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22:12 on Tuesday 31st January 2012 |
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"How did this talking point get on to Wimpy?" |
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Anon of Andover says: |
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20:13 on Monday 30th January 2012 |
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"For those of you who do not want a Wimpy, i suggest you send your objections to Andover Borough Council, Planning Dept." |
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anon of andover says: |
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07:58 on Monday 30th January 2012 |
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"Talk of the wimpy coming in is just a sign of andover at its worse. we had a wimpy years ago and it closed. Where are all these councillors we are supposedly having work in our benefit. Its about time they stood up and said enough, andover needs to stop just grabbing anything to fill a unit. Its about time we had some decent shops and variety. Andover high street will die otherwise." |
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Anon of Andover says: |
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13:40 on Sunday 29th January 2012 |
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"No to Wimpy. We have enough food outlets now/Does Andover want a epidemic of obese people.NHS is suffering enough now.We need clothes shops urgently." |
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Jenny of Roman Way says: |
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15:59 on Saturday 28th January 2012 |
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"Another shop ready to close down.....Bonmarche.....and, another food chain wanting to come into Andover....Wimpy.......something needs to be done NOW to stop all these closures as otherwise Andover will be non existant soon, Andover can't carry on like this!!! " |
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anon of andover says: |
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14:06 on Thursday 26th January 2012 |
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"lets be honest here, Andover is a prime example of what is going wrong with town centres these days. The only trouble is no one in Andover that can do anything about cares. They keep telling us about the Andover Vision, and how we got ASDA and the cinema. Thats fine but what about other things, Andover is depressing at times. I can go weeks on end with out going to town,a nd if needs be i will go to newbury or basingstoke.
We have all these town councils and councillors and no one will do anything worth while. Andover Town Centre will be pretty non existent in years to come." |
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Southern Boy of Andover says: |
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17:48 on Monday 23rd January 2012 |
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"Andover high street and the chantry centre are slowly dying due to the greed of the landlords and tvbc, £38k is the average yearly rent for a unit in the chantry centre and how much more can tvbc put up the parking charges!! (why did one tell us he was against an increase then vote for it !!) and for what a shopping centre full of card, phone and charity shops and as a friend joked today, full of those "to let" shops that always seem closed. but i blame the decline squarely on the muppets that wanted the high street turned into a pedestrian precinet, it killed our market, its half of what it used to be, i go out of town to sites that have free parking - oh and just for those asda shoppers, tesco's did really bad, apart from a few stores that did better - Tesco Andover apparently was one of those that did better - and no i dont work there !! " |
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Jenny of Roman Way says: |
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08:26 on Sunday 22nd January 2012 |
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"I think Andover town centre is a total disgrace......charity shops, empty shops, coffee shops, banks and betting shops........there is no incentive any more to shop in Andover, all the charity shops are completing against each other and with the threat of Peacocks closing down why would anyone want to shop in this town?!!!! Andover town centre has MADE people change their shopping habits!!!!!!!" |
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neil of Andover says: |
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10:00 on Saturday 21st January 2012 |
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"Andover is coming a ghost town with all the empty shops working in the Salisbury I have notice empty shops don't stand out like it does in Andover and looks like Andover will have another empty shop with Peacocks in administration or is the rents cheaper in Salisbury then Andover that why you see more independent stores open there then here so we need to look at all the business rates and find a way they all put together and help to reduce the overheads for small business to stay open in Andover or we see Andover high street in year 2014 as a leisure park with pubs and cafes etc lol" |
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Martin of Andover says: |
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10:38 on Friday 20th January 2012 |
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"I think internet online shopping has destroyed the High Street shopping experience. I hear lots of people go into stores to look at items and price and then purchase them online because quite often they are cheaper. In a way, we are all to blame for what has happened to traditional shopping, our habits have changed and the High Street hasn't. I think it's sad, I really miss Woolworths, Our Price, Rumbelows, Wimpy etc. Andover High St and the top end of the Chantry Centre looks very sad and neglected now. The answer is for all of us to try our best to shop local and stop giving our money to neighbouring towns, I know its not always practical, but when you can shop local and also Test Valley Borough Council is not off the hook here, they should be looking at every avenue to try and encourage a department store into Andover and reduce parking fees. I don't have any sympathy for Tesco and their falling profits at all, they are greedy and have destroyed a lot of town centres - serves them right!" |
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Emma of Andover says: |
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16:05 on Thursday 19th January 2012 |
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"If Tesco want to know why their profits fell their Andover store is a shining example. Following a recent revamp the shop is dirty, the quality poor, staff morale seems low and most could do with some new uniforms and it has the most hideous smell assulting your nostrils when you walk in. I have found myself shopping more at Asda lately - better quality of produce and a clean store with tidy happy staff. I also like to shop in as many smaller retailers as possible but like Debbie says once I have paid my bills, purchased food etc there is hardly anything left for anything else. Andover is ok for getting essentials but for anything else Winchester or Salisbury is a better shopping experienceand for larger chain stores Basingstoke. " |
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Phoebe of Andover says: |
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16:11 on Wednesday 18th January 2012 |
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"It's a catch 22 situation with less jobs around and people struggling to get by these days people like myself shop wherever is cheapest. However just a few years ago I loved looking round one off shops like Art2Art, Indulgence to name but a few when buying gifts for people because I personally like buying things that aren't something you can get in every other store, but during the recession with shops going from the town this is no longer an option. If I lives somewhere bigger then I could still do this sometimes but not in Andover anymore sadly. It's got to the point where all we have is betting shops, cafe's and charity shops. Is it any wonder larger name stores don't want to come here? " |
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anon of andover says: |
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08:09 on Monday 16th January 2012 |
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"I think this also a question of, what does your high street offer? Its all well and good trying to change your spending habits, but when like in Andover, you have such a poor high street/town centre ther eis only so much you can change. The truth is andover is living proof that the town centre/high street is dead unless you put money and effort in to it and not just go giving shop units to just anyone. Andover has been summed by the fact that two units at the top of town were knocked in to one, not for a big chain or something really necessary, but for a charity shop. I mean how many chairty shops does one town need? " |
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Alan Resident of Andover says: |
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01:42 on Monday 16th January 2012 |
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"Agree with Anon on Tesco - putting prices up by 20p and then dropping them by 10p doesn't equate to a price drop. Still go there but only if they are the cheapest." |
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ANON of Andover says: |
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20:03 on Sunday 15th January 2012 |
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"I have recently cut down quite drastically on buying "junk" food as it is getting too expensive. I shop in tesco and sainsbury as they are close together, I buy different items that are offer in either store and have noticed a drop in what im spending. I also want to point out that the cost of eating healthy food from a supermarket is stupid, no wonder everyones becoming obese, its much MUCH cheaper to buy food that is not good for you. I have started doing all my fruit and veg shopping at kenyons where it actually works out a lot cheaper , it also lasts longer and tastes better. I have also started getting my potatoes from the milk man and my milk , also works out cheaper , Ive had one huge sack since before christmas and they are as fresh now as the day they were delivered, they would have gone off had I bought them from tesco or any other supermarket. I very rarely go into Andover town as the shops are awful, if I need to go clothes shopping I drive over to basingstoke or newbury retail park where the shops the provide me with everything I need. The only time I really go into town is to the hairdressers or the optitions....which says it all! There will be no high street left soon, as I think most people in Andover venture out of town now. " |
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anon of andover says: |
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15:40 on Friday 13th January 2012 |
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"The only saving grace about Andover is the fact that we do have a choice of supermarket, and i personally have found myself going more towards asda recently. THey have reduced their prices properly and offer the things people want.
This was my big issue with Tesco, and their supposed big price drop, putting the price up before hand and then dropping it but still being more expensive than your competitor is not going to work.
I have also started being more aware in store, for example:
If your buying multipacks check the price, often you wil find 4 tins of a product cheaper than the multipack. e.g asda spaghetti 4 single tins 4 p cheaper than multipack.
Check the dates as well, i know it sounds simple, but you dont wanna find its going out of date in 2 days.
Dont just buy things on the offer unless you need that many, otherise they go out of date and you chuck them.
Fruit and veg, sometimes your better off spending a little bit more on the market and having it last longer and being fresher than going cheap in the supermarket and it lasting only a day or 2.
I know it doesnt seem much but every little helps at the moment. " |
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debbie of andover says: |
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09:28 on Friday 13th January 2012 |
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"i dont go into town any more..i can barely feed my family every month at the moment, there is no point going to the shops if you have no money to spend! i am doing a college course so there is only my husbands wages to live on..and having 1 child to get school bus fairs for and a teenager in college that takes £50 a month...so as i said i can barely make a months money stretch to a month let alone buy anything other than essentials!" |
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